<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Too Little, Too Late (BATMM One-shot) by MoonalineMariaGia2004</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30134946">Too Little, Too Late (BATMM One-shot)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonalineMariaGia2004/pseuds/MoonalineMariaGia2004'>MoonalineMariaGia2004</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>BATMM One-shots [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Blaze and the Monster Machines</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, College AU, Exes, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, changes, past blasher, past blaze x crusher, reverse! blaze, reverse! crusher</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 17:00:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,237</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30134946</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonalineMariaGia2004/pseuds/MoonalineMariaGia2004</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt; Where Blaze and Crusher meet in college and they get together and break up and all hell breaks lose after the race at the first ep of BATMM. One-shot.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Blaze &amp; AJ (Blaze and the Monster Machines), Blaze &amp; Crusher (Blaze and the Monster Machines), Blaze/Crusher (Blaze and the Monster Machines), Crusher &amp; Pickle (Blaze and the Monster Machines)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>BATMM One-shots [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2211207</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Too Little, Too Late (BATMM One-shot)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>
      <span class="u">Anonymous: Can you do this prompt? Where Blaze and Crusher meet in college and they get together and break up 'cause Crusher wants to go to Axle City to be a racer and they no handle a LDR? Then Blaze shows up and all hell breaks lose after the race at the first ep of BATMM?</span>
    </em>
  </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, AJ!” Gabby greeted the other only human in Axle City as she and the other racers noticed him walking through the streets. “Where’s Blaze?”</p><p> </p><p>“Back at our apartment,” AJ replied. “Why you ask?”</p><p> </p><p>“We wanted to invite him for ice cream,” Darington said.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I was just about to head back,” AJ smiled. “Come on!”</p><p> </p><p>He hopped on Gabby’s bike (motor?) and led the group to the apartment. They had just gotten to the apartment building when they noticed another truck that seemed to be waiting at the door.</p><p> </p><p>“Pickle?”</p><p> </p><p>“O-Oh! Hey guys!” the green truck turned to them with a wave. “What are you guys doing here?”</p><p> </p><p>“Um, Blaze and I share an apartment,” AJ pointed out as he got off Gabby’s bike.</p><p> </p><p>“And we were gonna invite Blaze for ice cream,” Stripes added. “What are you and Crusher doing here?”</p><p> </p><p>“W-Why do you assume that Crusher’s with me?” Pickle gulped.</p><p> </p><p>“Wherever he goes, you go,” Starla deadpanned.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh… right…” Pickle turned away and cleared his throat. “W-Well, if you’re looking for Blaze, I don’t think that’s a good idea,”</p><p> </p><p>“What? Why?” Gabby crossed her arms, hopping off her bike.</p><p> </p><p>“Um…”</p><p> </p><p>Before Pickle could answer, however, the sound of something crashing from inside the apartment caught everyone’s attention, making them jump in horror.</p><p> </p><p>“BLAZE!” they all ran inside, pushing Pickle off their path to head up.</p><p> </p><p>“Woah!” Pickle moved out of their way to not be pushed around any longer before driving after them. “Wait for me!”</p><p> </p><p>They all headed up the apartment and entered to see the whole living room in utter chaos. They gasped as they saw the vases, mirrors, picture frames, tables, and a bunch of other breakable things were all shattered and destroyed on the ground, the pieces all spread across the mat.</p><p> </p><p>By the sides of the room, Blaze and Crusher stood. Blaze looked annoyed, glaring at the other with a hiss while Crusher was silently brooding and gritting his teeth as he glared back.</p><p> </p><p>“Uh, Blaze?” AJ stepped forward, causing both monster machines to turn to him. “What’s going on…?”</p><p> </p><p>“Just… a little argument, AJ,” Blaze sighed and turned away. “It’s nothing,”</p><p> </p><p>“How could it be ‘nothing’, Blaze?!” Stripes cried out.</p><p> </p><p>“Apartment a mess!” Zeg nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“What did Crusher do to make you THIS mad?” Darington asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, YES, Blaze,” Crusher snarled at the red truck. “Why don’t you tell your precious friends what I did wrong?! Because it always seems to be MY fault! Everything that happens is MY fault, even WHEN I WAS NEVER THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s BULLSHIT, and you know THAT!” Blaze turned to him with a roar, taking everyone back, even AJ.</p><p> </p><p>“Guys, stop!” Pickle drove in between them, willing to keep them separated. “Blaze, Crusher, I’m sure that we can talk this out…”</p><p> </p><p>“We COULD if someone STOPS BEING A COMPLETE ASSHOLE FOR FIVE SECONDS!” Crusher snarled, eyes of daggers glaring at the red truck. “YOU SAID THAT YOU CHANGED, BUT APPARENTLY, YOU’RE STILL THE SAME, YOU SELFISH ASS!”</p><p> </p><p>“Blaze is NOT selfish!” AJ defended his best friend.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, the Blaze YOU know doesn’t seem to be, but the Blaze I knew was.” Crusher hissed. “And most likely still is.”</p><p> </p><p>“You fellas… know each other?” Starla glanced at the duo.</p><p> </p><p>“We… We met in college,” Blaze answered, obviously uncomfortable with the subject. “Crusher’s… my ex,”</p><p> </p><p>“WHAT?!” the group were shocked, especially AJ, who stared at his best friend in disbelief.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, he’s my ex,” Blaze let out a sigh. “Things were… different before,”</p><p> </p><p>“Different as in he was the selfish one, and I was the one who was supposed to be submitting,” Crusher huffed.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, forget about the past, Crusher,” Blaze rolled his eyes. “I’m different now, but you STILL can’t see it!”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, am I supposed to JUST forget how YOU threatened to call my parents when I told you that I was leaving to become a racer when you KNEW well enough how abusive they are just because you hated LDRs after watching them fail in the rom-coms you watched?!” Crusher yelled out, prompting Pickle to hold him back. “I wanted to leave to be AWAY from them, and I thought that you would’ve understood, but you didn’t!”</p><p> </p><p>“Of COURSE I hate LDRs, and you KNEW that!” Blaze planned to engage, but AJ was holding him back. “You knew that I hated LDRs, but you suggested it anyway!”</p><p> </p><p>“THEN WHY DIDN’T YOU COME WITH ME?!”</p><p> </p><p>“BECAUSE WE HAD STUDIES, AND AFTER GRADUATION, I WANTED TO HAVE A MASTERAL!”</p><p> </p><p>“IF I WAS GONNA STAY ANYWHERE NEAR MY SO-CALLED PARENTS FOR ANY LONGER, I WAS GONNA THROW MYSELF OFF OUR DORM WINDOW!” Crusher bellowed, the memories of the past causing the tears streak down his eyes. “YOU KNEW THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH ME BY THE LAST YEAR OF OUR STUDIES, BUT WHAT WERE YOU FOCUSING ON?! YOUR OWN STUDIES! YOU FOCUSED ON YOUR FUCKING STUDIES! YOU DIDN’T EVEN BOTHER TO ASK ME IF I WAS OKAY, BUT IF SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH YOU, WHAT DO I DO?! I ASKED YOU IF YOU WERE FEELING FINE! I PUSHED AWAY MY HURT TO TRY TO HELP YOU, AND YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO CALL ME SELFISH?!”</p><p> </p><p>By then, Pickle was consoling him, hugging him and stroking his back gently to calm him down. Blaze had stopped yelling, taking in everything that the other spoke as his own tears fell from his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“You… You’re right,” Blaze finally sighed and looked up at the dark blue truck with tearful blue eyes. “I recognized too late that you were hurt. That’s why I TRIED to change, Crusher. I CHANGED myself and started to put others first before myself. I REALIZED that you were hurt and tried to change---”</p><p> </p><p>“You… You realized that I was hurt?” Crusher looked flabbergasted. “When?”</p><p> </p><p>“After we broke, and you left with Grammy, Pickle, and his family,” Blaze’s voice was cracking as badly as the other as he let out a shaky breath. “I found out more about what your family did, and I realized that… that they were hurting you badly. That the reason you were always submissive and silent most of the time was because of them. I realized my mistake, and I wanted to change. To be your friend, at least, even after everything that happened,”</p><p> </p><p>Crusher took in everything for a moment. Pickle gave him a comforting hug, and he turned to him to see his smile, silently telling him that they should leave. He nodded and glanced at red truck one more time before turning away to leave.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, it’s too little, too late, don’t you think?” he spoke flatly, opening the door. “We’ll never be friends, Blaze. I won’t be the same, submissive, humble Crusher you used to know. This city… My life outside of our homeland had toughened me up, shaped me into the being I am now, just as your realizations had softened you, and I will never let you soften me up ever again,”</p><p> </p><p>With that, he left with Pickle and slammed the door shut.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>